


Forget How it Ends

by Kitty_KatAllie



Series: Do You Believe in Fairies? [14]
Category: Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Genre: Casey is a flirt when did this happen, Gen, Harvest Moon MC Twins, because Casey is basically an outsider right now, lots of backstory for Evie whoddathunkit, outside pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-11-28 10:29:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20965067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty_KatAllie/pseuds/Kitty_KatAllie
Summary: Thirteenth Timestamp: Casey's EventTakes place immediately after Chapter 36 "Siblings over the Summer" || It was CRAZY. Legit INSANE with all the capital letters to believe fairies were real and some mother goddess fairy had called Lupe here— this nowhere town with shitty cell reception and nosey neighbors.





	Forget How it Ends

The walk back to Harmonica Town later that evening was… weird. Maybe not for Cristina, someone Casey had come to know pretty well over the past few months, so he could tell that for _once _she was completely outta the loop rather than _him_ being outta it. But it was definitely awkward for _him_. He could see Finn— _the fairy_— bobbing around Lupe_—_ _Evie_, ugh, _no one_ back home called her that except for their old, _dead_ “Grandpappy” on Dad’s side.

It was CRAZY. Legit INSANE, with all the capital letters, to believe fairies were real and some mother goddess fairy had called Lupe here_—_ this nowhere town with shitty cell reception and nosey neighbors. It was like… like she was some _Chosen_ One, like some wild Harry Potter plot.

Lupe had always been so stubborn, always wanting to be the leader when they were just little kids and, later, _special. Different._ If he hadn’t come here and seen it for himself, he would’ve kept on believing she’d run off just to chase that _need_ to be special. Of course she had quit college, too, for the same reason she always had.

But… this? Fairies? And Chosen Ones? And magic bells? This was so beyond anything Casey could have expected.

He stared at Lupe’s profile, watched her laugh at something Cristina said and then lift her eyes to the dancing ball of light above Cristina’s head and smile. The light flickered close to her forehead, her eyes almost crossing to keep it in sight, and then it darted away. As it whizzed past him, Casey just barely made out the squeaky little fairy’s voice;

“See you in the morning, twin brother!”

He halted in the middle of the road, staring after it as it grew smaller and fainter.

“Casey, what are you doing? Maya called me, like, fifty times to get a move on,” Lupe said with a jerk of her head.

“You’re acting really weird, Casey.” Cristina’s expression went sly and playful, smirking as she teased, “is it past your curfew?”

“Ha ha, very funny. I’m _fine_.” He picked up his pace to come up even with them on the road.

“Yup, that sounded very grumpy. It’s definitely past your bedtime,” Lupe agreed, voice just as mocking and lips smirking.

“All right all right, no ganging up on me,” Casey said, holding up his hands and laughing.

“Ugh, you are _impossible_ to tease. No fun at all. Evie, how are you _so_ melodramatic, but he’s so… _not_?” Cristina groaned with a shake of her head.

“He got all the good looks and I got all the fun,” she quipped, tossing auburn hair with a snooty lift of her nose.

“We look almost exactly the same, _hermanita_,” Casey pointed out, locking his arm around her neck and making her grunt in surprise. She rolled her eyes up at him.

“Looks like I’m just luckier than you, _hermanito_.”

“Don’t even try to use Spanish. Your accent makes me cry,” Cristina said quickly, in Spanish too, making Lupe stick her tongue out at her.

When they got over the bridge, two women were standing outside the first building. Both were rather short with long fluffy hair in pigtails and wearing dresses, but one seemed to be dipped all in blue and the other could rival a lemon cupcake with all that yellow and ruffles and fluffy pink hair to top it off.

“I t-told you she’d be here soon,” the bluenette said with obvious relief.

“It’s about time! I don’t appreciate being kept waiting,” the yellow-clad pinkette said frostily.

“Sorry, Luna. Hey, Candy!”

“Candy… Candace? I remember you from that Skype call way back when,” Cristina said, stepping up to hold out her hand. Candace shook it and smiled hesitantly as her cheeks went pink in the shop’s porch light.

“Yes, that’s r-right. I… Um, thank you? For r-remembering?” Candace stammered, looking pleased and shocked.

“Who wouldn’t remember you? You’re about as opposite from my sis as possible, no way we’d forget her making a friend like you,” Casey said, coming up to shake her hand, too.

He was intercepted by the slightly shorter, feistier one.

“_Excuse me?_ What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded curtly.

Casey blinked at her, automatically smiling even as he tried not to show his confusion. “I just mean my sister is a wild lunatic on her good days. Someone sweet and quiet usually runs away as fast as possible. Looks like Candy here is a lot wilder than that quiet, good-girl look she’s got going on makes you think,” he said, winking at Candace as he said it.

Candace gasped, both hands covering her mouth as her face went red. Cristina rolled her eyes and Lupe groaned.

“Oh no, I did _not_ miss this,” she muttered under her breath.

Luna smirked and cocked her hip, her fists on her hips. “Well, you’re interesting. I’m Luna Snyder, and Candace is my big sister. You’ll be walking me to Brass Bar.”

“Be happy to, Ms. Snyder.” Casey grinned and held out his arm. Luna slipped her small hand into the crook of his elbow. “Would you like to walk with me, too?” he offered Candace.

She hurriedly shook her head, edging behind Lupe. “I’m a-all right,” she squeaked.

“Later, I’ll teach you to never turn down a guy’s offer to escort you,” Luna whispered to Candace. She smirked and looked back at Casey. “It’s right down this road, over that little bridge.”

He peered down the lane and spotted the lit-up building and the big bold sign. “_Vamanos, carina_.”

Luna giggled and leaned in closer. She smelled like flowers and, strangely, wool. “Do you speak _fluent_ Spanish?”

They gamely ignored yet another loud, annoyed groan from Lupe and Cristina’s loud snort.

“Yup. Not Lupe_—__ er, Evie._ But most of us in the family do. Even my dad speaks better Spanish than Lupe.”

“Only ‘cuz Mama’s got him whipped,” Lupe muttered. Casey couldn’t help but laugh at that <strike>because it was definitely true</strike>.

“Candace, are you dating tha_—_OUCH! Evie! What the hell was that for?” Cristina yelped.

“What? There was a mosquito,” Lupe said innocently.

“On my __head__? The _back_ of my head?” Cristina exclaimed.

“D-dating? Who’s d-dating?” Candace stuttered.

Casey looked back, eyebrows rising high in question. Luna’s soft scoff had him quickly looking back down at her. Unlike him, she could raise just one eyebrow, quite elegantly, too. It was very judgemental and amused at the same time, which was pretty impressive.

“Evie is not only a loudmouth, she’s a blabbermouth. I should’ve seen that coming,” she said, her tone matching her eyebrow perfectly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Casey asked, grin lopsided and intrigued. “I mean, you’re right, she definitely is, but what’s she blabbed?”

Luna gave _him_ that judgmentally amused look now, glossy lips quirked up to the side. “I am _not_ a blabbermouth, but good try, Don Juan.”

“Is the Don Juan thing ‘cuz I’m Latino or ‘cuz I’ve got you hooked?”

Luna just laughed and gestured to the door they’d already made it to. Inside the Bar, he could already hear the cacophony of voices and music. At her cue, he quickly stepped up to open the door. She walked past him with a swift, pleased smile, and then the other three women followed, taking advantage of him already holding open the door. Candace whispered a stuttered ‘thank you’, red all over again and eyes unable to meet his. He followed them in, hands in his pockets and lips pursed around an innocent whistle. Coming to visit Lupe was turning into one of the best decisions he’d ever made, and he’d seriously thought it would be the opposite. He was expecting bruises and tears. Instead, he was getting magic and pretty ladies. Who’d’ve guessed it?

“Welcome t’Castanet! D’ya drink? Cuz the first one’ll be on the house,” greeted a cheerful voice that came from a blonde bombshell in a miniskirt and croptop. Her gorgeous cat-like green eyes checked him head to toe, and she leaned forward eagerly. “Ya really do look jus’ like ‘er!”

“Uh… yeah. Twins. Hope that’s a good thing and you’re not holding it against me?” he said winsomely. “I’m Casey Fuentes, and you?”

She blinked in surprise, and then placed her hands on her hips and laughed with her whole body. It was a nice sound, if baffling. “Kathy Brass ‘s the name. My Pa runs this joint, ‘n believe you me, yer sister’s more my type than you.”

Casey frowned in confusion, then felt his eyes widened as he realized what that laughter was about. “Guess that makes my sister the lucky one.”

“Nah, I got my heart set on a diff'rent girl," she said laughing again and bopped his nose. "Yer real cute, though, so I won’ kick yer butt outside. Whaddabout that drink?”

“Yeah, sounds good. Anything with pineapple, Kathy Brass?”

“Sure thing, cutie.” She sashayed away, still chuckling.

He knew better than to enjoy watching her leave— which was a shame with legs like those— so he quickly cast his gaze around his surroundings. Luna and Candace were already seated at a table with Cristina, plus some loud guy wearing a bandanna and vest and a girl with a sweet face and matching brown hair and eyes with them. Oddly, Lupe wasn’t there. He looked over the stage, where one of the most gorgeous women he’d ever seen was dancing to the music. Her light purple, flimsy-looking clothes managed to conceal and accentuate the generous curves of her body and dark brown shade of her skin. It was difficult to tear his eyes away to glance over to the bar, but the only people there were Kathy, leaning on the dining room side as she spoke to a big, burly, bearded dude with a ridiculously scary face standing behind the till. Another man with carroty-blonde hair and his back to the dining room was at the stove. Finally, he found Lupe at another, smaller table. Instead of more young folks, this table was mostly older men in worn-out working clothes. A lumbering tall and big-bellied man with a mustache, a smaller but just as broad-shouldered and stocky man with a bright yellow shirt, and a much older man mostly bald with a long, hooked nose were all talking with Lupe. Not only were they chatting, they were _listening_ to _her_. As he neared the table, he could barely keep his jaw from dropping as he heard them discussing livestock and town trade tariffs as if Lupe was… was one of _them_. As if she had actual opinions and could keep up with these men. She was smiling, eyes lit up, as she asked them personal questions about their days, their _lives_.

Lupe… Lupe didn’t _schmooze_. She could be chatty and friendly and the life of the party when she wanted to be, but she didn’t… _schmooze_. She didn’t go out of her way to remember people’s business or- or _network._ She was too impatient and impulsive to be politically correct or tactful.

But… she _was_. She was standing in a group of farmers— and carpenters? And was he a _blacksmith_?— and talking about their news and business and the town like she was making it her problem. Like these people _mattered_.

Sure, Lupe could be kind and fun and could bulldoze her way into making people's lives better whether or not they wanted it, but… She used to joke about she was always too busy for _details_. She never had _best_ friends, just lots of _good_ friends. He figured it made it easier for her to skip out on them later, when she needed new hobbies or new goals to chase.

So what was she doing schmoozing with a bunch of old geezers in a bar?

“Hey, Case, did I leave you hanging? Sorry, everyone, this is my brother. He’s visiting with my friend, that’s her over there, Cristina. I better get back to them,” Lupe said, taking care to shake each man’s hand.

“We’ll be outta you younguns’ hair in no time,” the gruff older man said with a chuckle.

“You keep my rascal son outta trouble this time, Ms. Evelyn. I don’t want him scurrin’ off that Sonata girl,” the blue-haired man said, making Lupe guffaw in amusement.

“Let Rey know if she wants to stay here for the night, me n’ her Mama won’t mind a bit,” the last man said with a rogueish wink. Lupe blushed to her hairline.

“You old geezers are worse matchmakers than anyone else in this town.”

They only laughed, toasting each other shamelessly. Lupe came up to grab Casey’s elbow and yank him away.

“Lupe… what…” he stopped, unable to voice it. Lupe just squinted at him.

“Why are you still acting so weird, Case? Finn isn’t even _here_. Just frogget about it for now.”

“Wait, what’d you say?”

“It was a reference, it’s always a reference, Casey. You really should know now to just not ask,” Lupe joked, clapping his back gently. “You’re nicer than me, so go make friends and try not to flirt with _every_ girl that walks in? They’re all gonna be pretty, so just prepare yourself now.”

A slow, crooked smile pulled up the side of his mouth. “How am I supposed to resist that?”

“Resist what? What’s goin’ on?” Luke asked as Lupe shoved Casey into a chair. They’d managed to scootch two large tables together into one big one and a few more new faces had joined; a muscley redheaded guy in a tank top, yet another pretty girl in red-framed glasses and a khaki outfit, and a guy who somehow managed to look outrageous and flawless at the same time.

“Hey, where’s Maya?” Casey asked, realizing there was one familiar face missing.

“Doing her evening chores. Probably for the second time. When she gets excited, she tends to leave things more a mess rather than tidier,” the sweet-faced brunette— Renee, Casey soon found out—explained with a giggle.

“We all know she’s going to show up eventually, but I care about _him_. Where’s _he_ at?” Cristina asked, eyes gleaming with mischief.

Kathy came up to the table with a laden tray. “If’n ya mean her _not-_boyfriend, jus’ saw him walk pas’ the front windows. More’n once. I think he’s bein’ shy.” She placed a glass in front of Casey with a wedge of pineapple on the lip of it. “I hope ya like coconut, too.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great, thanks.”

He took a sip and looked up to see Lupe getting shoved and pushed to her feet, Cristina and Luke the gleeful culprits.

“You guys are being ridiculous!” she hissed before she stomped towards the front door. Everyone watched her go, then burst into chuckles or giggles.

“Oh, poor Toby,” Candace whispered, looking guilty. Luke reached over to grip her shoulder, thumb brushing along the collar of her blouse.

“He’s a big boy, he can take it, Candy-girl,” Luke said, still chuckling and not bothering to drop his hand.

“I’m sure he can, but not everyone appreciates the limelight. Let’s focus on the newcomers for now,” suggested the man with the highlights and fancy clothes. His voice sounded a little tight, but his smile looked welcoming and warm when he glanced at Cristina and Casey. “How exciting to have visitors coming again to Castanet. I’m Julius Rosens, a jeweler up in the Garmon District. ”

“Jeweler? I’ll remember that. If I don’t come home with gifts for my family, there’ll be hell to pay,” Cristina said with a smirk.

“Ugh, same here. I think my parents’ anniversary is coming up soon, and Maria’s birthday, too,” Casey slumped in his chair and mentally saw what little savings he had disappearing.

“Maria?” Luna repeated curiously.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Snyder, I’m a flirt, but not a cheat. Maria’s my older sister,” Casey said with a grin.

“_Older_ sister?” Half the table parroted. Even Cristina was gaping a little.

“Evie’s got _other_ siblings?” Luke asked, all but reeling back in his chair.

“Jus’ how many she’s got?” Kathy demanded, her tray now empty and tucked under her arm.

“I knew she had other siblings, but I didn’t know they were older,” Cristina said with a slow, upward lilt to her words.

“Two older, and one younger,” Casey explained with a little confusion. He had no idea that blabbermouth Lupe hadn’t told her friends _everything_ about herself. “Maria, Aron, and Rosa.”

“How come you and Evie are the only ones with the boring names?” the redhead— Casey was pretty sure he remembered his name was Owen— asked with a grin.

“Actually, mine’s the funnest one. I started going by Casey in kindergarten, the other nicknames I had were a lot worse,” he joked. “And ‘Evie’ is Guadalupe at home.”

“Gua-Guadalupe?” Luke snorted, quickly hiding his face behind his sleeve. Candace was already handing him a napkin.

“It sounds so fancy and saint-like. Not like Evelyn at all,” Luna noted. A few more people choked or snorted, trying in vain not to agree.

Hands perched on the back of Casey’s chair and Lupe leaned down, still damp and frizzy curls brushing his ear. “You did _not_ just tell them that name, did you, Juan Cuauhtlatoatzin Fuentes?” she asked all too sweetly.

“Well, at least you can still say _my_ name correctly, Guadalupe Evelyn Fuentes,” Casey said with an unrepentant grin over at her. She glared with flinty auburn eyes.

“It’s _Tallesin _here. On official documents and everything.”

Casey rolled his eyes and took another sip of his really _really_ delicious cocktail. He needed to figure out its name so he could order it again. “You’ll always be a Fuentes, little sister,” he told her in Spanish. She grumbled at him, her scowl lightening only when a new guy stepped up and put his hand on her shoulder.

“So, this is the brother? And Cristina, the friend from college?” the man asked. He looked older than most of the people at the table, though not by much, and he wasn’t much taller, either. He was lean and _slow_, every movement looking sleepy and careless, especially with all those baggy layers. In _summer_, geez, what a weirdo. That grey hair wasn’t helping him look younger, either, in Casey’s opinion. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as this foxy-eyed dude shook hands with Cristina and introduced himself, his hand never leaving Lupe’s shoulder. Like… like it _belonged_ there.

Lupe never had a guy hang all over her like that before, and Casey wasn’t sure he liked how Lupe’s face got all soft and dopey when she smiled over at him. He took another gulp of his drink before getting to his feet to shake hands and meet this _Toby Fisher, welcome to Castanet_ guy properly.

“Juan Cuauhtlatoatzin Fuentes,” Casey introduced himself stiffly. He didn’t notice the sniggers outside his periphery or Lupe’s eyebrows skyrocketing up her forehead. He just noticed the slight jerk of Toby’s hand in his and the incredulous lift of a thin brow the same old-man grey as his hair.

“That’s a name. Is it a family one?”

“No,” Casey answered unhelpfully. He grunted suddenly as Lupe’s elbow smashed into his solar plexus.

“It’s a _saint’s_ name, like mine. My mom thought it’d be clever to name us after a saint who saw the Virgin Mary and then, yanno, the Virgin Mary,” Lupe explained quickly, eyes rolling _hard_ in Casey’s direction. “Just call him Casey.” She smirked wickedly and he knew he was about to get his punishment for spilling the beans on her name and being less than enthusiastic about her… _friend_. “Or you could call him Cootsy.”

Casey felt his face flame red as several bursts of laughter sounded behind him. He ruffled his hand through his hair and groaned. “C’mon, Lupe. Really?” 

“_Cootsy_?” Luke repeated, grinning widely.

Casey slunk back into his chair, Lupe sitting nearby and Toby just next to her. His hand was finally off her, so Casey felt his blood pressure finally lowering. He did notice, however, that Luke’s arm was still around the back of Candace’s chair and he made a mental note to back off. Sadly. Making her stutter and blush had been fun. Lupe immediately regaled the whole table with how Casey got his nickname in kindergarten, when there had been another Juan in their class and the teacher asked if they wanted to go by another name, like a nickname or middle name. Which was when Lupe had jumped in to suggest Cuauhtlatoatzin and making everyone’s eyes pop open. So then she had told them all about the name she’d been calling him since they were babies— _Cootsy._ And the entire kindergarten called him Cootsy Cooties until he’d finally blown up and started a fistfight on the playground. With Lupe. Who had obviously been the instigator all damn day. They’d gone home with a black eye on Casey and a bloody lip for Lupe— she’d even lost a baby tooth before it got loose. Maya had shown up before the story was over and inserted herself between Casey and Phoebe with a wide, excited grin on her face.

“Ooo, I didn’t know Evie was such a _troublemaker_,” Maya exclaimed, blue eyes dancing.

“For real? All the trouble I ever got in was ‘cause of her,” Casey said, snickering unabashedly at Lupe’s loud ‘_oi_, watch it, bro’.

“Can you seriously say he’s not telling the truth?” Cristina asked, chin perched on her hand as she sipped her raspberry-something-or-another cocktail and smirked.

Lupe pouted, nose wrinkling, before she ducked her head and rubbed the back of her neck. “Okay, so no, he’s not _lying_. But he never wanted to do anything my mom told us not to do, and where’s the fun in that?!” she demanded, throwing up her hands. Everyone laughed and Lupe smiled sheepishly.

“So pushing people outta their comfort zones has been a trait of yours since childhood, has it, Evvy?” Toby murmured below the laughter that Casey barely heard from his seat next to her. Lupe pffted and flapped a hand at him.

“I’m a _gift_, Tobias.”

“That’s still not my name,” he retorted through chuckles.

It felt like ants were crawling up and down his arms and it took a _lot_ of will power to not shake the feeling away. Lupe… Lupe was downright _soppy_ about this guy. First, the schmoozing? Then, the pet names? What next? Oh right, then there were the _fairies_. The _friggin fairies_. How could he forget about those!? Casey downed the last of his cocktail and wished it were something stronger. Maybe just straight up rum instead of all the juices mixed in. This place… this version of his _sister_, it was all getting too weird.

“Is there a place for me at this table? I’ve been dancing up there, but it looks like the only fun is over here,” came a sultry, slightly accented girl’s voice. Casey looked up to see the dancer from the stage now standing just behind Luke and Renee, one hand curled over the back of the loud guy’s chair. He could just barely make out pretty light purple and sparkly nail polish and a gleam of sweat on her upper lip and forehead. She was smiling lightly with glossy, rosy pink lips and a tumble of curly auburn (though much much redder than his or Lupe’s) hair spilled over one shoulder.

“Sorry, Selly, we got all caught up on our visitors,” Owen said, grinning widely as he quickly got to his feet so she could take his chair. She hesitated a moment, her eyes darting towards Candace oddly, then tossed her mane of curls behind her and sank into his offered chair.

“I guess I’ll forgive you. If you join me up there later,” she said with a teasing little smirk. It looked great on her, Casey couldn’t help but notice.

Several people around them laughed and cheered while Owen just held up his hands in surrender and chuckled.

“Not in front of strangers. It’s bad enough all y’all seen me fall over my two left feet,” he protested.

“Aw, they’re not _strangers_. Casey is Evie’s brother, and Crissy is her friend from college! They’re basically family!” Maya argued with a little pout.

“I did not agree to being called _that_,” Cristina muttered.

Selly turned her eyes— smoky and violet like an old school Hollywood star— towards them and smiled. “It’s nice to see new faces. I’m pretty new, too, actually. Selena Toucan.”

“It’s _Cristina_, not Cris, and definitely not Crissy,” she introduced firmly. Maya’s pout got bigger.

“You can call me Casey. Maybe you can point out a few things a newbie like me has to do around here. I’d like the advice,” he said, matching Selena’s smile. She blinked once, slow and heavy, before something more guileless and pleased lit up her face rather than the overly perfected customer expression she’d been sporting.

“I like your definition of family, Maya,” the fancy dude at the end of the table said then. Was it… George? Jude? Julius! That’s what it was. “Anybody and everybody could be family.”

“That’s right! Why not?” Maya all but chirped sunnily.

“I think that deserves a toast,” Renee said. “It’s a wonderful idea.”

“Yeah! A toast!” Luke got to his feet, grabbed the back of his chair and leapt onto it. It wobbled dangerously, both Candace and Renee crying out and grabbing each side.

“If he falls, it’s his fault!” Lupe said, busting up with an arm around her stomach.

“If’n he _breaks my chair_, he’s gonna _buy_ it,” Kathy warned as she hurried forward with a drink for Selena.

“Pfft, I’d make you an awesome chair, so you _wish_ I’d break it,” Luke replied without a trace of concern. He lifted his mostly empty mason-jar-mug, sloshing the few bits of ice and blueberries still floating inside. “T’family! The family ya got at home, and the family ya call your friends, too. Welcome to Castanet and keep them tourists comin’, Goddess!” He shouted the last line, one hand cupping the side of his mouth.

“Is he trying to say tourists are family, too?” Phoebe asked with a crooked smile.

“I don’t think he knows a word coming out of his own mouth,” Luna said with an eyeroll and a sigh.

“C’mon, y’all gotta toast!” Luke demanded, shaking his mug for emphasis. He quickly stopped and held his free hand under the mug. “Oops, did I getcha, Candy?”

“No, not at all, but _please_ get down, Luke. You’re going to fall!” Candace said, lying through her teeth as she discreetly covered the drink-splattered collar of her cardigan with her hair.

“Okay, okay,” Lupe said, her chair screeching over the wooden floorboards.

“Evelyn,” Toby sighed in resignation, one hand already bracing the back of her chair as she climbed up.

“Of course she is,” Cristina groaned under her breath, but she was smirking a second later.

Lupe held her glass of cider over the table towards Luke and grinned. “To family! And Castanet!”

“Hell yeah!” Luke crowed. They air toasted each other with a ‘whoop’.

Casey glanced between them, mouth twitching upwards. This just wouldn’t do at all. Boyfriends were one thing, but no way was someone taking the spot of best bro. He hurriedly climbed onto his chair, yelping a bit as it tottered under his feet until Lupe’s hand caught his elbow and held him upright. His eyebrows flew up at the strength in that hand, but he held out his drink although only the dregs were left. His eyes met another pair identical to the ones he saw in the mirror every day.

“To family, even the tourists.”

Lupe and Luke laughed, both almost falling backwards outta their chairs. Luckily, it prompted the rest of the party to scramble to their feet and hold out their mishmash of drinks for a loud, glass-tinkling toast, everyone cheering for ‘family’.

Luke, Casey, and Lupe eventually all made their way back down, Luke actually falling on his face with a considerable splash of his moonshine and even more considerable amount of guffawing. Casey had always been light on his feet and hopped down easily while Lupe tipped her way almost right on top of Toby, who grunted and managed to help keep her balance the rest of the way down. Most of the party stayed in the Bar until it closed, telling wild stories about Casey and Lupe’s childhood. Owen left earlier than all the rest, shaking his head when a few begged him to stay, Selena even grabbing his arm to hold him in place. Chase tossed his apron at the loudest whiners, ordered Kathy to fend for herself, and all but dragged Owen away when he started looking wide-eyed and hunted. By the time Hayden had let Kathy take over and disappeared himself, all other patrons but them having left, Cristina had moved on to sharing a few of the shenanigans they’d gotten up to in college— lots of sneaking into clubs just to say they’d been there, drinking coffee and eating donuts at a donut shop at four o’clock in the morning in their pjs when all their exams were finished, getting lost in the big city, and taking the train to the ‘burbs while in crazy college get ups. Fun silly things that made Casey actually regret for a minute only going to a trade school rather than trying for uni like his twin.

“She had me dressed up in this full medieval _thing_, bodice and skirt and stockings, the whole works, on the friggin’ commuter train at seven o’ clock in the morning. There were people in their suit and ties next to me, briefcases in hand, while I’m sweating in a corset and carrying a basket of fake dragon eggs!” Cristina narrated, hand moving in sharp little motions to emphasize her points.

“Oh, but wasn’t the Faire worth it?” Lupe said with a dreamy smile. “I signed up for archery and even squired after a knight for a while. I wanted to wield a hammer at the next tourney.”

“Didja?” Luke asked excitedly.

Lupe’s dreamy looked cleared up and she fidgeted uncomfortably. “Uh, no.”

“Nah, she got into… what was it? Quidditch? You played for like a whole year… wait, no, maybe it was all that Japanese tutoring,” Cristina said thoughtfully, eyes towards the ceiling as she wracked her brain. “You thought about changing your major to Linguistics for a semester and took like, three languages, right? Not including all that ancient mumbo-jumbo she was already learning. She almost _killed_ herself studying for those exams.”

“Yeah, I think I legit lived in a panic attack for a week,” Lupe said, laughing awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck. Thanks to her new tan, Casey almost didn’t see the blush working its way up her throat. “Luckily, I caught up over summer classes. Stuck to Classics after that.”

“Until you ran off to save the bees,” Cristina said with an eyeroll.

“Save the _what_?” Luna blurted.

Lupe sunk down in her chair.

“What, she never told you guys why she came here? She just ran in our dorm one day, like her ass was on fire, slammed her laptop around and just… popped open the website for this town. Starting going on and on about how important farming was and how she had to do it for the bees. I thought for sure she’d give it up in two weeks like archery— ”

“To be fair, I was _terrible_ at archery. The arrow just kept _falling down_,” Lupe muttered darkly, face so red it was finally darker than her tan.

“But she really stuck it out. I didn’t see any _bee hives_ on her farm, though, _Evie_,” Cristina pointed out. Lupe sputtered wordlessly.

“I knew it!” Casey exclaimed, snapping a finger. “She was just like that when we were kids. First, it was little league, then piano, then she wanted to play the drums and I think my mom wanted to _kill_ her. After we visited my dad’s family, she got into 4H, and then in high school it was Drama, then soccer,” he listed off, holding up a finger to count each thing.

Lupe was getting lower and lower in her chair, staring determinedly at her empty glass. Everyone else was laughing or grinning, some shaking their heads as if it made total sense. Candace was looking at Lupe, though, something like concern on her soft, sweet face; a look mirrored on Renee’s expression as the list went on, her giggles slowly subsiding. Although, her eyes were darting between Lupe_ and_ Toby. The guy was only one besides Candace who was completely silent, only a small sliver of a smirk on his placid face.

Casey stumbled to a stop and suddenly it wasn’t so funny. After high school, it wasn’t just flitting from hobby to hobby, giving up on this inspiration or that goal for another one. She started giving up on people. Their town. Their family. A bunch of friends they’d known their whole lives. Her own name.

Even _him_. Through all her wild, impulsive plans, Casey had never thought _he’d_ be left behind with the leftovers of her different dreams.

He quickly ruffled his hair and smiled, lopsided and careless. “She kinda did everything she could, was friends with everyone, yanno? I liked woodshop and math and soccer. I was the boring one.”

“Can we get back to the part where we were calling you Cootsy? I liked that,” Lupe joked tautly. Her smile was stretched a little too thin to be genuine.

“Cootsy?” Selena repeated, an eyebrow raising. Because of course this perfect example of a Hollywood knockout could do that, too. What was _up_ with this town?

Casey groaned. “Damn it, Lupe.”

That forced laugh she did, too breathy and from the throat rather than from her whole body, had Casey barely keeping from snapping. What was she ashamed of _now_, four years too late for it to mean anything? He barely managed to keep on smiling, eyes on Selena’s intrigued expression.

“Forget you ever heard that. It never happened,” he said with a over-exaggerated wink. Selena giggled behind her hand.

“Perhaps, Evelyn, you’d like to walk outside with me for a bit? I’d had a favor about some mining I’d like to ask you about, and it just _slipped_ my mind while Owen was here, silly me,” Julius said, a gentle smile on his face as he got to his feet.

“Oh no, Juli, you’re not leaving?” Maya whined. “Owen and Chase are already gone, not you, too?”

“I’m afraid so,” he admitted with a heavy sigh. Lupe was on her feet, trying not to let her relief show. She was always pretty bad about hiding her feelings.

“I’ll— ” Candace started, eyes darting to Julius and then back to Lupe.

“I’ll be just a minute. I promise to be right back,” Lupe said, holding up a hand. She glanced down at Toby in question. His smirk only grew.

“It’s late enough now that’s it’s not worth sleepin’ till after I help open the shop. I’ll be here when you get back,” he drawled. Lupe gnawed on her bottom lip, guilt filling her eyes as Julius came around the table, embracing and double-kissing people’s cheeks as he made his farewells. Candace stammered and squeaked at the treatment, and Luna jumped up, hissing, until Julius neatly boxed her in and did it to her, too, bopping her nose as she gaped, shell-shocked, at him. While everyone was snorting over that interaction, Toby reached out to touch Lupe’s hand and that smirk became something more like a smile. “I’ll be here, Evvy.”

She nodded once and exhaled loudly through her nose.

“How ‘bout we set up for a card game n’ I make a new round a’ drinks fer us stayin’?” Kathy offered. Cheers went around the remaining, more exuberant participants and Casey let himself get sucked back into the fun of it.

He did let himself, for a moment, glance over his shoulder. In the doorway, Lupe was ducking her head shyly at Julius, shrugging a bit and waving her hand towards the cheering table and muttering something. Julius just smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke just as the cheers began to die down. Casey strained to hear it, leaning back on his chair until the front legs rocked off the ground, grinning and nodding as Luke and Maya began to shout excitedly over each other about what game to play.

“I’ve spent so long having it thrown in my face that I can see someone looking trapped and anxious from a mile away. At least with you, I can help, instead of putting my admittedly expensive and well-crafted boot in it,” he said to her with a chagrined and pained pull to his features. Lupe touched his arm and smiled softly.

"Hey, it'll work out," she was saying as they stepped outside the door.

Casey quickly tuned back into a conversation that didn’t make him feel like a raging dick or just… _enraged_. He didn’t feel like himself with either of those emotions bubbling under his skin.

**Author's Note:**

> After this: Back to the Main Story for the next few updates!! See you next Tuesday(Monday night for you Western Hemisphere peeps)!
> 
> Beta Notes You ALL Must See:  
schmooze or shmooze, smooze is the villain in the 80's MLP movie (@ me for misspelling)  
oh no don't fire a pistol when you know they've got a shotgun (@casey when Evie says his full name)  
You will unhand my sister and cease your pelvic sorcery right now foxy man! (casey @ toby)  
this boy is sloppy drunk and I love him (@luke)  
'Do it for the Bees' is my new slogan for everything


End file.
